Performance and competence Assessment: the foundations of De Nora’s development

Every person has unique talents, abilities, and ambitions: this is the principle on which De Nora has built its approach to employee development and performance evaluation.

Through initiatives such as individual development plans that guide growth paths aligned with both business needs and personal aspirations, and assessment tools that provide a comprehensive and accurate view of the progress achieved, De Nora places people at the heart of its strategy, valuing individual uniqueness in a transparent and structured way.

Let’s see together what these initiatives are about.

1. The New Inclusive Performance Assessment for a people-oriented evaluation 

Starting from the belief that people’s contribution cannot be measured solely on the basis of achieved targets, De Nora has introduced an innovative model for performance analysis: the Inclusive Performance Assessment.

This new assessment system goes beyond the traditional technical evaluation and embraces a broader, more inclusive view of individual contribution.

Alongside the traditional top-down evaluation of objectives by the Line Manager, input from colleagues is also included — and, for managers, from their direct reports as well — making the Performance Assessment a concrete tool for fairness, listening, and shared growth.

The Inclusive Performance Assessment provides three assessment indicators, and four for managers with more than two direct reports:

• target achievement: The Line Manager assesses the achievement of the targets defined during the Target Assignment campaign. S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) targets are assigned based on a cascading logic that ensures coherence with the company’s strategy and gives everyone the opportunity to contribute to the achievement of common targets with goals consistent with their role.
• performance drivers: three qualitative indicators (effectiveness, efficiency, and engagement) evaluated by the Line Manager that ensure the person’s alignment with the company values. Among the indicators, we find:
  - Cooperation: in agreement with the manager, everyone can select up to five colleagues they work with to anonymously assess their teamwork skills and their ability to support others.
  - Leadership: for managers with two or three direct reports, leadership and inclusivity skills are assessed by their direct colleagues.

Depending on each person’s role, these indicators carry different weights, in order to reward organizational skills, transversal contributions, and the quality of professional relationships.

These indicators are a key element for shared success at De Nora and provide people with a comprehensive assessment of their performance.

As in many other companies, at De Nora performance is linked to the salary review, through a matrix that cross-references performance results and salary positioning, ensuring fairness and merit-based recognition.

At De Nora, in line with the company’s stated values, the ability to build relationships based on support and trust plays a crucial role in the salary increase process alongside traditional individual performance. This holistic and inclusive approach to performance assessment was awarded with the first prize in the New Ways of Working category at the Best HR Team Awards, sponsored by HRC Community.

2. Growing at De Nora: the Individual Development Plan

People’s professional development is one of the main pillars of De Nora’s approach to people.

To provide opportunities that support skills development, aligned with each person’s ambitions and the company’s needs, De Nora’s people design an Individual Development Plan (IDP) together with their managers, tailored to their individual strengths and expectations. 

Designing the IDP starts with the skills assessment. Every year, De Nora launches a Competence Assessment campaign in which people are asked to complete an initial self-assessment of their hard and soft skills, followed by the manager’s assessment.

The Skills Assessment campaign is followed by a discussion phase in which, by reflecting on personal ambitions and organizational needs, managers and employees jointly develop a growth plan that takes both perspectives into account.

IDPs follow a 70-20-10 model:

• 70% experiential learning through new projects, new responsibilities and field activities;
• 20% relational learning (caching, mentoring, peer learning);
• 10% formal training through structured courses.

Once the Individual Development Plan is defined, both parties can access it. It becomes a real “development contract” that is visible and trackable, enhancing the sense of responsibility for both the individual and the manager, who is responsible for ensuring the conditions necessary to achieve the targets.

Throughout the year, review meetings are organized to monitor progress on the activities outlined in the IDPs and to assess any necessary adjustments to the plan.

The distinctive feature of De Nora’s assessment system, beyond its holistic approach that considers all aspects of individual performance, is the accountability entrusted to people.

Actively involving people in assessment processes means making them the protagonists of their own growth journey. This approach strengthens awareness, mutual trust and transparency of the process to support people’s development.